Fear Clinic

I was pretty disappointed by this film. It wasn't as bad as it could have been since there are some big stinkers out there, but it also could have been a lot better. If you're expecting closure from the web series, look elsewhere. This movie ignores anything that happened before and reinvents the story for a new audience. That isn't entirely bad since it gives the story a chance to reinvent itself, but the problem here is that what we're given doesn't really live up to expectations.

Englund does a pretty good job here and part of me really enjoyed seeing a more sympathetic Anders, but the lack of a cold, calculating Anders willing to achieve results by putting lives in jeopardy was what made the web series so much fun. He wasn't necessarily a sadist, but this posed a good question as to what would happen when things went south and the man in charge is already willing to put people in danger to forge new ground. In a way he was one of the web series's monsters.

The ending wasn't awful, but by the time the film ended I was already ready for the closing credits. There are some great special effects here and everyone tries really, really hard, but this just didn't work out and I can't help but think that this would have fared better as a web series rather than a film.

Loved the idea for 'Fear Clinic', which for recent modest to low budget film viewings was one that was really quite creative. Executed right, 'Fear Clinic' had potential to be quite decent. The cover/poster/advertising was attention grabbing and does make one want to see the film. Robert Englund too is always watchable, despite being in a lot of bad projects.

'Fear Clinic' could have done so much more with such a great concept and is not necessarily a great film, or even particularly good. There are a fair few problematic elements here, including deciding early on whether to continue watching. That said, it is watchable enough, just about worth sticking with and the potential is not completely wasted. There are plus points, and fortunately in 'Fear Clinic's' case those plus points are quite big.

The best thing about 'Fear Clinic' is the acting which is really quite good, particularly from an against type but refreshingly sympathetic Englund and Fiona Dourif, providing a female lead that in lesser hands would have been completely bland and passive but given some steel with Dourif. There is some assured directing in the latter stages.

Surprisingly the effects are pretty cool and are nowhere near as amateurish as one would fear. The final third does intrigue and does have tension and suspense and the photography has slickness.

Unfortunately, it does take a while to get there. There are moments of promise in the first two thirds certainly, but 'Fear Clinic' does take far too long to get going and the draggy pacing is apparent frequently. Tension, suspense and creepiness are not consistent for such a freaky concept.

Some of 'Fear Clinic' is very predictable and the clarity not always there, parts are confused and disjointed. Despite the final third being where the film picks up significantly, the climax is on the bizarre side. Not all the production values are good, with far too much of an over-reliance of neon green lighting, which does make one feel there's something wrong with their eyes, a cheap-looking setting and editing that lacks fluidity.

In summary, watchable but not much special. 5/10 Bethany Cox

For a low budget film, Fear Clinic respectably produces several good horrors, they even resemble high fantasy at times. However, aside from the fast introduction early on, the plot stutters with repetitive scenes and the actors' performances are too often flimsy. The concept and visual are decent enough, but the movie just feels that it loses momentum as it progresses and eventually doesn't conclude as strongly as it opens.

Story follows a doctor who has made a method to deal with fears. He would put people inside a chamber and let them experience virtual enactment of said phobia. Problem arises after several people begin to see strange things even when they are not connected to the machine. The first act is arguably the best part, since it delivers a good hook and fast enough for people to invest in.

Unfortunately, the plot suffers from awkward development. Scenes would feel jumbled and needlessly recurring, mostly because the editing is poor. After the initial build-up, the characters are interacting with the excitement of telemarketer or frantic over-the-top. It seems odd since there's barely any coherency between each scene, the characters' reactions appear to be unexpectedly random.

For what it's worth, it has a few good moments. When the visual is accommodating, the thrill is presented admirably. A couple of events look like they belong to sci-fi or fantasy film, or even another higher quality production. It's unfortunate that the film only produce these instances briefly.

Fear Clinic couples together decent concept and presentation, it's just not done consistent enough as it deteriorates anticlimactically.

I wanted so much to like this but I just couldn't get into it. The actors were great, the effects were pretty cool and setting was right on. But the storyline was a bit weird and hard to follow in some areas.

It was alright. Not super exciting or scary though. Kinda a show to watch in the background while doing other things. Had potential, but didn't do much with it.

The acting is sub-par, and its really sad because it was a movie that could've been up there, but it's not even as good as "Truth or Dare" and even "Smile" was more interesting.

I guess if you have a phobia some scenes might be uncomfortable for you, but otherwise it's not scary in the slightest. There's some twists that you don't expect, but any effect they would've had was lost in translation/the lack of effective acting.

Waste of time to watch. Spend your time on something else.